Environmental & social sustainability in a brave new internet world

Eco-sounds

I talked about sound in a recent post and its ability to evoke memories and change how we feel.

Even inaudible sounds (i.e. those outside the audible range for humans) may affect us or be felt as vibrations. As we become more aware of the impact of sounds and other sources of energy, we can start to take charge and make positive changes to our environment, where necessary. (See this post)

Perhaps we can also harness the power of sound to improve environmental outcomes? For example, check out the ‘world’s deepest bin’ (here).

Or add extra dimensions to everyday objects so that they appeal to more of our senses and offer a more enriching and memorable experience?

For example, sound can be incorporated into the design of children’s play equipment and provide opportunities for interaction.

Like the sculptures that I discovered in the ‘dry river bed’ at the Cranbourne Royal Botanic Gardens. They are made from a timber post and a stainless steel wheel filled with something that generates a rain-like sound when you turn it.

(You can see how the ‘Rain wheel’ works on the artist’s website (here). It was wet the day I saw it so we had the sound of real rain instead.)

It turns out that the artist, Kim Bowman, has created many other ‘sound sculptures’ that are in parks, gardens and playgrounds all around Australia – including one in Canberra that I will try to find one day.

His designs include harps, chimes, xylophones, drums, tubes and other monumental musical instruments that can create ‘a range of melodious and percussive sounds’ by children (and adults) across a wide spectrum of abilities.